This invention relates to fish hooks and artificial baits and, more particularly, to a fish hook including an appurtenance, separate and distinct from the normal hooking portion, onto which a variety of artificial baits, which include novel attachment means, may be releasably and interchangeably mounted as desired to provide for improved orientation and wobble of the fish hook as it is drawn through the water in addition to providing an enticing looking bait for the fish.
Upon a study of the prior art in this field, the present inventor has discovered a wide variety of fish hooks having appurtances intended for a variety of purposes. For example, as seen in U.S. Pat. No. 310,118 which was issued to Bower on Dec. 30, 1884, a rearwardly projecting branch arm extends from an otherwise standard fish hook. As discussed at lines 37-43 of the Bower patent, the arm B is provided to prevent the fish from swallowing the hook as well as to prevent the bait from "slipping up the hook". Attachment of bait to arm B is not suggested and it may also, therefore, be readily apparent that attempted placement of bait on arm B would not be secure and hence ineffective.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,862,632, issued to Kattenberg on Sep. 5, 1989, disclosed a fish hook having its leader line end bent at an angle in a direction from the main hooking end intended for carrying an elongate bait such as a worm over the entire length of the hook such that only the line and bait are visible when the bait is impaled on the entire hook structure as seen in FIG. 3 of the Kattenberg patent. It is readily apparent that the hook and bait will not and are not intended to wobble through the water nor is the bait 22 intended to be subsequently removed from the hooking structure intact once it has been initially trained thereon.
Additional patents of which the present inventor is aware are listed as follows:
______________________________________ Patent No. Date Inventor ______________________________________ U.S. 4,251,942 2/24/81 Jacobus U.S. 1,505,235 6/15/23 Archer U.S. 805,284 11/21/05 Greenway & Horner U.S. 2,645,054 7/12/50 Taylor U.S. 2,825,174 3/4/58 Leinonen U.S. 70,913 11/12/1867 Sterling British 973,689 10/28/64 Groves U.S. 3,494,066 5/5/67 Lawter U.S. 551,581 12/17/1895 Crane U.S. 551,582 12/17/1895 Crane U.S. 1,461,246 7/10/23 Lent U.S. 564,517 7/21/1896 Hastings U.S. 2,995,858 8/15/61 Rathmann U.S. 1,961,378 6/5/34 Mitchell U.S. 196,648 10/30/1877 Edgar Russian 448,846 3/26/73 Borisevich U.S. 3,400,483 9/10/68 Temple U.S. 3,834,060 9/10/74 Wagenknecht U.S. 1,291,614 1/14/19 Noxon ______________________________________
Of all the references listed above, none disclose nor suggest a fish hook having an appurtenance for the releasable securement of an artificial bait which includes the means for the interchangability of a variety of such artificial bait as will be described and understood more fully below.
It is the main object of the present invention to provide a fish hook having a stem-like appurtenance onto which a variety of artificial baits having releasable securing means may be interchangeably and securely mounted in a position offset from the barbed hook without having to remove the hook from the fishing line.
It is another object of the present invention to provide a fish hook and artificial bait therefor which, when mounted upon an appurtenance of the hook in the intended manner, increases the buoyancy of live bait on the hook while also imparting a wobbling action when the hook and bait are drawn through water.
It is a further object of the present invention to provide a fish hook and artificial bait therefor which properly orients the hook in the water as it and the bait are drawn therethrough.
It is yet a further object to provide a novel fish hook and artificial bait therefor which can be quickly attached and removed therefrom and be compactly stored either separately or together.
It is another object to provide hooks and artificial baits for fishing which artificial baits are quickly interchangable in size, shape, color, weight, design, on the various shaped and sized hooks for the fishing at hand.
It is still another object to provide hooks and artificial baits for fishing which can cover many fishing conditions with fewer hooks and fewer artificial bait than with known hooks having permanently attached artificial bait or known hooks which can allow disengagement of artificial bait however with damage to said artificial bait occuring.
Other objects will in part be obvious and in part appear hereinafter.